Fungi infect man, animals, plants and the like to cause various diseases. Among these, fungi belonging to the genus Candida, the genus Cryptococcus, the genus Aspergillus and the like are known as the principal causative fungi of systemic mycoses.
Currently known antifungal agents that can be used for treatment or prevention of fungal infections are only a very few. The therapeutic drugs available for systemic mycoses in man and animals are amphotericin B, flucytosine, miconazole and fluconazole. However, therapeutic activities of these agents are unsatisfactory, either in efficacies, toxicities, antimicrobial spectra and the like.
Specifically, few agents are effective for fungi belonging to the genus Aspergillus among fungi that cause systemic mycoses in man (e.g., Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans and Aspergillus fumigatus). Therefore, a therapeutic agent that can cover the drawbacks associated with the conventional agents has been desired.